I sometimes grant leniency when this happens -- but only about a week's worth, and even this this really shouldn't happen more than once, period in a working re

I sometimes grant leniency when this happens -- but only about a week's worth, and even this this really shouldn't happen more than once, period in a working relationship with someone. And even then, I only grant leniency when there's good vibe all around and I feel like I basically like/trust them. Either way, about the best thing you can is tell the guy, "I'm sorry you're having difficulties, but this wasn't what I was expecting when I signed on to work here, and in any case I won't be able to stay on in the presence of significant delays in compensation. The most I can give you is $N days. If you're not able to work with that, then I'm sorry, but I'll have to put my work on hold", where N should be ideally be 3-5 days, and no more than 7-10 (and that, only if you really like the guy). And then hold firm. Making reference to your previous discussion about runway would be an excellent assist to your case, as it helps depersonalize the situation, and focus the founder's attention on keeping his word as to what he's said previously.